Top-seeded Tech's bid for OVC Tourney championship begins Saturday

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Winning the regular season league title with
a perfect 8-0 record has given the Tennessee Tech tennis team the
top seed in this weekend's Ohio Valley Conference tournament at
Centennial Sportsplex in Nashville.

Now, to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time 2006,
the Golden Eagles need to sweep a couple more victories beginning
in the semifinals Saturday morning. Coach Kenny Doyle's team will
face either Morehead State or Jacksonville State at 10 a.m.
Saturday, with the winner moving into Sunday's championship match,
also set for 10 a.m.

The tournament winner earns the league's automatic entry into the
NCAA field.

The Tennis Championship tournament returns to Nashville for the
first time since 2008 this season. The event will once again
be held at the Centennial Tennis Center (click here to get directions) after being held
in Paducah, Ky. each of the past three years.

The men's championship is being held for the 64th time this year
(it first was in 1949) while the women's championship is being
contested for the 36th time (it was first held in 1977).

The 2012 title was Tech's first since goin 9-0 in the league in
2008. That year, coach Barry Lewis' team was tripped up in the OVC
Tournament, 4-3, by Jacksonville State. Tech also fell in the OVC
Tourney in 2007 after sharing the regular season title, that time
by Samford.

The last time Tech claimed the OVC Tournament title was in 2006
following a 9-0 regular season run. In that tournament, coach Randy
Smith's team beat UT Martin, 4-0, and catured a 4-3 win over
Samford in the title match to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Syrym Abdukhalikov, a junior from Kazakhstan, leads the Golden
Eagles while anchoring the lineup in the No. 1 position. He is
14-11 overall this season in singles play, going 9-7 in dual
matches including a 5-2 record against OVC foes. His doubles
partner in the No. 1 slot, senior Alex Chen from Uzbekistan, fills
the No. 2 singles position. Chen went 4-3 in singles matches in the
OVC this season.

Tech's No 3 singles entry, freshman Alejandro Augusto from Spain,
had a huge impact on the team in his first semester. He went 8-0 in
OVC singles matches, and enters the OVC tourney with an eight-match
winning streak.

Another Golden Eagle with an unblemished OVC record, senior Justin
Kirstein from South Africa, was 8-0 while filling the No. 5 spot.
Kirstein and Augusto teamed up to go 7-0 in OVC doubles
contests.

Artem Tarasov from Uzbekistan, another first-semester freshman,
plays in the No. 4 singles role while Vasily Eremeev, a sophomore
from Russia, is in the No. 6 position. The pair also had much
success against OVC foes, going 7-1.